The Nalbadeisan Empire
The story of Nalbadeise is very much the story of Man, and the greatest acheivment of the race of Men. At it's height, The Empire of Nalbadeise united the many independent cities of humanity, and streched from Northwatch on the border with the Orcs, to Sumara, and the Ubantu desert. But the story of Man does not begin in glory. It begins under the dominion of the Eldar. Elven Rulership When Man was first created by the combination of various entities and spirits, they were a young race, in a world where other races had been established for decades, or even centuries. They awoke near the Elebreth Woods, at a site called Gaea's Womb. The Eldar Empire which ruled the area at the time knew that the race of Men would starve in short order, if one of the other races did not slaughter them first. The Elves pitied Man, and took them in as vassals. The Elves taught Men how to farm, and taught them the virtues that make up their moral code. All that is good, the saying goes, we learned from the Elves. The Elves also taught Man the arts of war, something at which they excelled. Soon, Men became even better warriors than their Elven overlords. This came in handy when the evil god Grumnsh revealed his race of Orcs, which attacked the northern Elebreth Woods, burning and pillaging. The Elves attacked and destroyed what they thought was the main army, but they were deceived, as the main army was busy sacking their capital. The Elven army retreated to the city of Ciril-Sylvar, and there many lords of Men joined them. At the head of the human army was Agatea, the greatest warrior humanity had ever fielded, wielding the Lavender Blade, later to be known as The Blue Sword. The Orcish horde stuck Ciril-Sylvar's defenses like a tidal wave, washing over barrcades until only the walls were left. It seemed the united army was doomed. Lord Sylvaris of the Elves had a plan to destroy the city as the Orcs were sacking it, to destroy the threat to the rest of his kingdom. We still don't know how he would have done this. That night, however, Agatea slipped out of the city, and into the Orc camp. Suddenly, his blade burst into blue fire, and it surrounded his body like whirlwind. He flew through the Orc camp, slaughtering and burning hundreds of Orcs. The Orcs fled before the hellish sight, as they knew only that any Orc that came too near was butchered. Seeing that the tide may have turned, Lord Sylvaris rode out with his army from the city's gates, killing yet more. The Orcs, some of whom were only just awakening, were confused, as it seemed that death was coming at them from every direction. The armies of the Elves and Men may have won the day right then, if not for the intervention of Grumnsh. His Preists, who lived in the camp, had received a vision of what they had to do. They all took up bows, and shot Grumsh's sacred arrows into the flaming whirlwind until it stopped moving, and failed. In the center was a mere man, bruised and broken. The Preists desecrated hid body, until Lord Sylvaris rode through the camp and single-handedly slaughtered them all. His soldiers pushed the Orcs out of the Elebreth woods. Some say that the remains of this army's descendents now rule over tribes of goblins and the like. The Elves had won the day, for the moment. The Orcs would be back, in greater numbers. And they would not have Agatea, the greatest of the warriors of Men, to help them. Over the next 200 years, Men fought side by side with Elves to keep the Orcs out of Elven Lands. In this time, the city of Nalbadeise swelled to a megapolis of 1 million people, the biggest city in the world at the time. Men were happy to serve their Elven overlords, many of whom they called freinds. The beggining of the end of that benifical relationship was the Great Dragon War, and the breakup of the Many-Colored Council. While Tiamat and Bahamut's draconic followers slaughtered each other to the northwest, a few enterprising individuals went southeast, to human lands, while nobody was looking. They burned human villages, and took the gold for their hordes. The Men went to the Elves for aid, only to discover that one was too be given. The Elves were afraid of angering the great Dragon armies which now fought to the north of their woods. They already had too much to handle with the Orcs, and had no time to spend on handful of human villages when the very survival of their race was at stake. The Men of Nalbadeise were outraged. When the Elves called for help, Men sent our best warriors, and they fought and died for Lord Sylvaris. When Men called for help, none came. This was enough to prove the suspicion that already lived in the hearts of many Men; that the Elves cared more for themselves than they ever could for "mere humans". The calls for revolution began in every human city. Men took to the streets, and burned the houses of Elven magistrates, sending them "back where they belonged". Rumors began of stolen children, replaced with changelings. Before long, Men had taken control of their own lands. The Elves did not send an army to take back their lands, as was expected. If this was out of pity, or becuase the army needed fighting the Orcs, may never be known. Each city of Men declared independence, and began warring with one another over territory. It was in this den of war that the Empire of Nalbadeise was formed. The Glory of the Empire Now Man was free to pursue his own destiny. But Nalbadeise did not rise immediatly, or without opposition. King Brutus of Nalbadeise was the one to unite the human cities, at great cost. Tens of Thousands died in the conflict. Being the largest human city, however, it was inevitable that Nalbadeise would rise to the top. By the time King Brutus died, Nalbadeise controlled all the human cities that were once under the control of the Elves. His son, King Aquatine, cemented Nalbadeise as a power by investing in roads, town watches, and general infastructure. He was a great patron of the arts, such as sculpture and architecture. He was a just King, but he did not go on any great campaigns of conquest. His son, King Vecna, would be the one remembered as a tyrant, and counqerer. Vecna crushed the Arcturan rebellion with ease, as well as the Tarsan rebellion, three years later. He carved a bloody swathe all the way to the Fire Mountains, where the Dragons lived in their caves. But all this time, King Vecna was going insane. He made himself a Lich, believing immortality to be the source of true power. He raised an army, and marched against the Elves who so recently were Man's freinds. His general, Kas, however, who knew of Vecna's Lichdom, betrayed him, believing that Vecna would become an undying tyrant. Vecna ressurected, and later found the secret of godhood. He is an enemy to all life. Kas's sister, Ceto, became Emperess of the Nalbadeisan Empire. Queen Ceto the Great would be remembered as the restorer of stability to the Empire. While Vecna was off on campaigns of conquest, rebellion was stirring again at home. The Unfufilled Rebellion was organized by a Noble Nalbadeisan family, called House Kogamo. Kogamo's forces attempted to assasinate Queen Ceto on her way to the crowing ceremony, thinking her to be a weak monarch, untrained for the fine art of rulership. Queen Ceto escaped, but was forced to flee Nalbadeise. Ceto had not been tutored to be ruler. She had been raised and groomed to be a Nobleman's wife. This was a difficult thing, as young Ceto did not want to be a wife. She had always dreamed of rulership, and this was her opportunity to show the entire world what she could do. She rode into the Prime Legate's millitary camp, and convinced him and three full Legions of soldiers to support her, in return for titles and land in the north. Her troops walked back into Nalbadeise, crushing the paltry force that House Kogamo had levied. When she retook the palace, and took her place on the throne of Nalbadeise for the first time, her first order was to have the entirity of House Kogamo put to the sword. As soon as she was sure her will was done, she ordered her Legions to declare martial law in every city in the Empire. In each city, House Kogamo's supporters had a plan to usurp power. In each city, Ceto's watchful Legions crushed the resistance before it even began. Anyone on the streets after the appointed hour was arrested. Having proved her strength in rule, the other Noble families swore loyalty to Queen Ceto, First Emperess of Nalbadeise, and Imperetor of the Human Kingdoms. The rest of her reign was a fruitful, just, and peaceful one, but the whole time her secret police watched the people for any sign of dissent. Emperess Ceto died with no heir, (rumor says that she would not trust any man enough to marry), and so the crown passed to King Alsium, of the Noble House of the same name. King Alsium counqered the city-state of Sumara to the south, and counqered many Aasathi tribes. As hard as he fought, however, he could not counqer the Ubantu. Every time he thought he had their army in a place where victory was seemingly assured, they would slip away into the desert. His attempt to counqer them can best be summed up in his famous qoute, "Fighting a war in that blasted heath of a desert those sand-monkies call home is like trying to attack a sandstorm. It always whips out the way, dancing around you unti you are buried alive." Some legends say that Alsium went insane with frustration over his seeming inabilty to counqer the Ubantu. These legends state that his last words were "If only I could have trapped those servents of Hell where they would never escape..." However, there is very little evidence for the Alsium insanity theory, as most of his actions show a cool, reasoning tactican whose only fault may have been an overabundence of caution in his battle plans. After King Alsium died, the rule passed to his wife, Lady Alsium. Lady Alsium only ruled for 2 years before abdicating, and retiring to a small cottage in the Cozar countryside. After the abdication of Lady Alsium, there was no clear heir, as the Alsium's son was a preist, and refused the position, and their daughter was killed during the fighting in Sumara. With no clear heir, the noble houses began squabbling with each other over the throne. All had claims, and connections to one of the royal bloodlines. Many said that House Alsium had the best claim, but others claimed that they could trace their ancestry back to King Brutus himself. A small war erupted throughout the Empire, with supporters of different houses attacking each other. Eventually, the Imperial Council elected the leader of House Tergeste as Emporer of Nalbadeise. The other Houses simmered, particularily House Alsium, but they kept their cool, knowing that the smallest spark could erupt into a civil war that may have ended the young Empire. King Tergeste was remembered as a great diplomat by the humans, but as the great betrayer by the Elves. The Elven city of Gil-Galad, outside of the Elebreth Woods, was a territory much valued by Men for the fertile farms outside its walls. With the population of the city of Nalbadeise coming up on 1.5 million, food prices were rising all through the Empire. Man needed Gil-Galad's farms. Gil-Galad, fortunantly for Nalbadeise, had a large freedom movement. It seemed that the Elves of Gil-Galad no longer wanted to live under Elven Rule. So King Tergeste opened up negotiations with the Count of Gil-Galad, and Lord Sylvaris of the Elves. King Tergeste worked as a mediator between the Eldar and the people of Gil-Galad, securing Gil-Galad's status as an independent city. The people of Gil-Galad loved him, seeing him as the Liberator, as there would have been no talks without his mediation. Unfortunantly for the Elves, King Tergeste's plan of conquest was now complete. Without the strong armies of the Eldar to defend their city, Gil-Galad was easy pickings for the mighty Nalbadeisan army. The siege of Gil-Galad ended on 506 P.W, two years after the treaty of Gil-Galad was signed. The people of Gil-Galad were furious, but there was nothing they could do. The Elves never trusted Nalbadeise again. When King Tergeste died, the crown passed to Queen Agacia. Queen Agacia would crush two rebellions in Gil-Galad, but her main legacy would be her fairness to the poor. She changed Nalbadeise's law code so that the rich could no longer exploit the peasents. The poor loved her for it, but the poor do not have access to assasins. Queen Agacia was murdered in her bed, along with her husband, at only 21 years old. The crown passed to her daughter, Queen Baucis. Queen Baucis would be remembered for her paranoia, and her willingness to stamp out crime. The death of her mother had left a great scar on Queen Baucis, and she was determined not to let it happen again. She ordered all guard units to be increased by half, hich had the unintended consquence of bringing down crime. By year five of her reign, however, Baucis had calmed down, and became one of the greatest peacetime rulers in the Empire's history, increasing trade, and cultivating good feelings with the counqered peoples. Queen Baucis died beloved by her people, and her son, King Gaius Tergeste, would be loved even more. Starting out, it seemed that he was just another counqerer, counqering the Greesheild Dwarf clan in the foothills of the Iron Mountains. At this time, the Greensheild clan was the only Dwarven clan to stay in their homeland, as an evil race of Dwarves, The Charduni, had driven the rest of the clans into exile. King Gaius heard these stories, and was touched. He organized the Dwarven clan all over his Empire, and gave them weapons, potions, and powerful magical artifacts, all to help them in the fight to retake their home. The Dwarves suceeded five years later, and were eternally grateful to Good King Gaius. Gaius also helped his own people, opening up the Royal Treasury, and buying free food for the poor. He also built massive apartment blocks in the cty of Nalbadeise. He died, King Gaius the Just, even more beloved than his mother. His daughter, Queen Caelia, would push the boundaries of what magic could do. Under Queen Caelia, themages of Nalbadeise advanced their sciences to a height unparraleled even today, developing such wonders as the Warforged, Blink Guardians, and Planear Gates. Nalbadiesan magic was now the most powerful in world. Caelia eventually left the Material plane, going through one of the gates to the Plane of Elysium. She spent the rest of her life exploring the planes, and sending samples back home for study. One of the thing Caelia found, was that a war was brewing amongst the gods. She took it as an interesting piece of information, but nothing serious. Her children would pay the price. Her son, Gaius II, King of Nalbadeise, Imperetor of the Human Kingdoms, Lord of the Northlands, Baron of Sumara, King of Kings, Dwarven Lord, and Count of Gil-Galad, would be the last true king of Nalbadeise. When King Gaius took the throne, Kuthian was massing an army of gods to march on Amahu. The heavens broke, and the gods used the Nalbadeisan Empire as a battleground. Petty kings, calling themselves Emporers, ruled in Nlabadeise, but had no control over their holdings. Nalbadeise fought to remain neutral in the hellstorm of Divine Conflict, but Kuthian would allow no such thing. The siege of Nalbadeise began 100 years after the Divine War began. Nalbadeisan troops held the walls against the army of demons for 10 years, and it seemed that nothing could pierce the city's defenses. But then Kuthian himself came, and broke open the city's walls like a clam. He slaughtered each and every one of Nalbadeise's 1.8 million people. The sheer amount of negative energy given off by Kuthain reanimated the corpses as zombies, making the city a massive, sprawling, city of the dead. To an adventurer, the city could be seen as the ultimate dugeon, filled with undead, and with untold riches. For who knows what pieces of magical might may still exist in the deepest of Nalbadeise's vaults?